Bottle-stopper.



uobmsss. Patented Oct. 2|, I902 s. KEMP.

BOTTLE STOPPEB.

(Application filed Aug. 25, 1902) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet N0.7ll.869.

Patented Oct. 2!, I902.

S. KEMP.

BOTTLE STOPPER.

(Application filed Aug. 25 1902.)

2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN KEMP, OF NORTH BRIXTON, ENGLAND.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 711,869, dated October21, 1902. Application filed August 25, 1902. Serial No. 1 20,968. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LSTEPHEN KEMP,inventor and model-maker, a subject ofthe King of Great Britain, residing at 106 Cowley road, North Brixton,in the county of Surrey, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stoppers or Means for Preventing the Refilling ofBottles and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stoppering bottles and other such likevessels, and is designed to produce what are known as non-refillablebottles, so as to make them inviolable and render it impossible totamper with the contents while in such bottles, and primarily has forits object to prevent refilling'bottles and other similar vessels withspurious concoctions and passing them off as the original liquidmaterial indicated by the marking on the bottle itself or by the labelor other mark on said bottle. This stopper once inserted in the neck ofthe bottle cannot be removed without violence sufficient to break thebottle and make the attempt obvious to any observer. The contents of thebottle will only flow when the bottle is held in certain positions,whereupon the contents, or as much as may be required thereof, can bewithdrawn, while the refilling of the bottle is absolutely prevented,all as hereinafter described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of astopper constructed according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a planof the top end of the stopper. Fig. 3 is a plan of the bottom end of thestopper. Fig.4 is avertical sectionalviewon line4 l,Fig.1,showing thestopper in the neck of a bottle and with the valve locked against thevalve-seating, so as to hermetically close the bottle, the cone j beingshown, however, in elevation. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on line 55, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 4, showing the valveunlocked, so as to enable the contents of thebottle to be poured out.Fig. 7 isavertical cross-sectional view' at right angles to Fig. 6. Fig.8 shows the stopper when the bottle is held in position to pour out thecontents. Fig. 9 is a side view in elevation, partly in section, of aslightly-modified arrangement of the air and liquor tubes, Fig. 10 beingan under side plan thereof.

The neck A of the bottle or other receptacle to be stoppered accordingto this invention is provided with a series of (say two or more)recesses B inside the neck of the bottle a short distance below the topof such neck A, or, if desired, an internal circumferential groove maybeused instead of said recesses B. A piece of cork or any other suitableelastic material a is located centrally below a metal disk I), to whichlatter said cork a may or may not be attached, as desired, said cork abeing adapted to enter the neck A of the bottle and fit same tightly.This disk I), which I will term the platform, is advantageously of thesame diameter, or thereabout, as the outside of the neck A, (see Fig. 4,&c.,) and for the purpose of permanently securing the stopper in thebottle-neck two or more spring clips or hooks are provided, (see Figs. 1and 7,) each clip consisting of a thin metal strip 0, which at its upperend is permanently attached to the platform I), and at its lower endeach strip a is provided with an exterior projection or hook at toengage in the said recess or inset B inside the bottle-neck, theformation and action of these clips 0 and d being such that when thecork part a of the stopper is driven into position in the neck A theclips 0 61 will be forced down the neck of the bottle therewith, theelasticity of the cork allowing the clips to be pressed inwardly intothe cork a until said hooks or projections cl come opposite the recessesB, (or below the top edge of the circumferential groove, if the latterbe used,)

whereupon the resilience of the cork will force outward the projection(1 into said recess, (or groove,) and thereby the stopper will besecurely and'immovably locked in position in the neck of the bottle,(see Fig. 7,) or this" stopper may be mounted and immovably secured inthe bottle-neck in any other desired and suitable manner.

Through the cork a two tubes eandf pass from the bottom of the cork upto and through the platform b, and advantageously each tube projectsslightly above the platform I) for forming a valve-seat. 1 These twotubes 6 and f are of different sizes, the larger one,e,being theliquor-duct and the smaller one, f, being the air-duct, and to preventsaid tubes contaminating or otherwise affecting the contents of thebottle said tubes 6 andf are preferably made of glass or china, and,furthermore, in order to protect such glass or china tubes from breakagethe upper part of same may be incased in a thin metal tube m or otherprotecting-sheath inserted from the upper part of the cork a downward,but always in such wise that the liquor cannot reach such metal tube orprotecting-sheath.

In practice it has been found advantageous to have theair-tubefprolonged or extended for, say, an inch, more or less, belowthe bottom end of the cork a, while the liquor-tube 6 may advantageouslyterminate fiush,or thereabont, with the bottom of said cork a.

On the upper side of the platform I) is hinged at b the flap-valve orclapper g, which on its upper side and opposite, or thereabout, to

' the hinge b is provided with the cam-surface or outwardly-extendingcurved edge 6, as and for the purposes hereinafter described, while theunder side of said flap-valve g is or may advantageously be providedwith any suitable pad 9 (see Fig. 7) or packing or lining to insure aclose fit of said clapper or valve 9 on each of the tubes 6 and f, suchpad, 850., being of any suitable more or less elastic material adaptedto form a tight fit on the valve-seating and at same time of such acharacter as not to injuriously affect the contents of the bottle in anyway.

It is the outer cap or exterior covering, the edges of which cap it fitover and extend below the platform I) and also advantageously extend alittle below the mouth of the bottle, said cap it being held in positionupon and with respect to the platform I) (and so as to be capable ofrotary movement with respect thereto) in anysuitable manner.Forinstance, said cap may be provided with an internal shoulder h alittle way up inside the bottom edge of said cap 71, which shoulder hrests upon or against the platform I), and then by inserting a ring orwasher t' below said platform and inside the lower edge of said cap hand there permanently securing said ring 2' for instance, by solderingsaid ring 7; to the cap or securing same together by pins orrivets-thereby the cap is prevented from being removed off the platform,but is always mounted in such wise as to be capable of partial rotarymovement with respect to said platform, suitable stops being provided tolimit the rotary movement of such cap with respect to said platform.Inside the top of said cap is rigidly fixed or formed the bell-mouth orinverted-cone-shaped device j, the edges of this latter extending downtoward the flapvalve, but always so as to leave sufficient clearance orspace between same and the top of the flap for a weighted ball orspherical body 7c (of glass or any other suitable material) to moveloosely between said flap g and the inverted cone and so as to preventsaid ball is from escaping from under said fixed cone j, the edge ofsuch oonej being slightly cut away atj (see Fig. 8) to enable theupwardly-projecting edge or cam-surface g on the flap-valve g to entersaid recessj, and thus enable the valve 9 to open sufficiently (when inthe position shown in Fig. 8) for pouring out the contents of thebottle.

Inside the upper part of the cap h is a fixed surface 71/ in suchposition as to be adapted to ride against the cam-surface g when the capis rotated into the position shown in Fig. 4, so as to thereby force thevalve 9 tightly down upon its seating on the upper end of the tubes eand f and there lock and hold same, so as to thus hermetically close thebottle when not required for use.

When it is desired to pour out the contents of the bottle, the cap 7t isrotated so as to move the surface h clear of the cam g, and thus unlockand leave the valve g free, and

' on inclining the bottleinto the position shown in Fig. 8 the ball kwill pass farther up into the conej, the flap-valve g will fallback andopen the ducts e andf, and the liquid can then flow through the duct 6,through the inside of the cap it, and pass out from the latter throughthe outlet h while air can enter the bottle through the air-tube f.As-the bottle is returned from the position shown in Fig. 8 (or otherinverted position) back to the normal upright position before the bottlereaches the horizontal the ball 7c by reason of the inverted cone jbears againstfiche valve 9 and presses the latter toward and. againstits seating before the bottle has reached the horizontal position, thisoperation of the ball is upon the clapper-valve 9 being a very importantand essential feature of the present invention.

In Figs. 9 and 10 a slight modification is shown-namely, instead ofhaving the tubes 6 and f arranged through separate parts of the cork,asillustrated in Figs. 1 to 8, I may form, arrange, or mount theair-tube f inside the liquor-tube e. For instance, said air-tube f maybe formed by the division-wall f, formed in or fused to the large glassliquortube e, a metal tube 00 or protecting-sheath for the tube 6 beingprovided in the cork a, as hereinbefore described with reference to theseparate tubes e and f.

Instead of using a single cam-surface g on the clapper g two or moresuch cam-surfaces may be arranged on said clapper g and a correspondingnumber of fixed surfaces h arranged on the inside of the cap it toengage with said cam-surfaces, and thereby force the clapper in an evenmanner down upon its valve-seating.

With stoppers constructed as hereinbefore described and permanentlysecured in the neck of the bottle in any suitable manner it will befound impossible either to tamper with the contents of the bottle orwhen the contents of such bottle have been withdrawn it will be equallyimpossible to force liquid into the interior of said bottle or otherwiserefill same without removing this stopper or breaking the bottle.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough; of automatic means for opening and closing the outer endsof said ducts, a sealing-cap inclosing said automatic means, and meansoperated by said sealing-cap for opening and closing the outer ends ofsaid ducts after the insertion of the stopper in the bottle.

2. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough; of automatic means for opening and closing the outer endsof said ducts, a sealing-cap inclosing said automatic means, and meansoper ated by said sealing-cap for locking and releasing the closingdevice over the outer ends of said ducts after the insertion of thestopper in the bottle.

3. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough; of automatic means for opening and closing said ducts bytilting the bottle, comprising a valve adapted to seat on the outer endof said ducts,

a loose ball adapted to rest on said valve, and an inverted-cup-shapeddevice adapted to retain said ball in position on top of the valve andto guide same against the valve when the bottle is tilted, and asealing-cap inclosing said automatic means.

4. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough and means for permanently retaining the stopper in thebottle; of automatic means for opening and closing the outer ends ofsaid ducts comprising a valve adapted to seat on the outer end of saidducts a loose ball adapted to rest on said valve and aninverted-cupshaped device adapted to retain said ball in position on topof the valve and to guide same against the valve when the bottle istilted, a sealing-cap inclosing said automatic means and carrying theinverted-cup-shaped device on the inside of said sealing-cap and meansoperated by said sealing-cap for locking and releasing the closingdevice over the outer ends of said ducts after the insertion of thestopper in the bottle. v

5. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough and means for retaining the stopper in the bottle andpreventing the removal of the stopper without breaking the bottle; ofautomatic means for opening and closing the outer ends of said ductscomprising a valve adapted to seat on the outer end of said ducts aloose ball adapted to rest on said valve and an inverted-cup-shapeddevice adapted to retain said ball in position on top of the valve andto guide same against the valve when the bottle is tilted, a sealing-capinclosing said automatic means and carrying the invertedcup-shapeddevice on the inside of said sealing-cap and means operated by the saidsealing-cap for locking and releasing the closing device overthe outerends of said ducts after the insertion of the stopper in the bottle.

6. The combination with a bottle-stopper having air and liquid ductstherethrough; of automatic means for opening and closing the outer endsof said ducts, comprising a hinged plate, a valve on the under side ofsaid plate adapted to seat on said ducts, a platform on which said plateis hinged, air and liquid ducts supported on said platform, a corkstopper below said platform and attached thereto and surrounding saidair and liquid ducts, a loose ball on the outer side of said plate, asealing-cap inclosing said automatic means for opening and closing saidducts, said sealing-cap being adapted to be rotated within certainlimits, an inverted-cup-shaped device carried on the inside of saidsealingcap and adapted to retain said ball in posi tion on top of theplate and to guide same againstthe valve when the bottle is tilted andan opening through said sealing-cap for the liquid to pass out.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twoWitnesses.

STEPHEN KEMP.

Witnesses:

E. GANDER, W. M. HARRIS.

